Antiphishing component not so accurate. Zero-day threats remain on your system (with limited access) until Webroot can analyze them. No antispam or parental control.

Bottom Line

Webroot SecureAnywhere Complete 2013 omits spam filtering and parental control, but it packs everything else you might want from a security suite into a ridiculously small package. Its antivirus aced our tests, and it comes with 25GB of hosted online backup.

Other Shared FeaturesEven Webroot's entry-level antivirus includes firewall protection. Specifically, it aims to control which programs can access the Internet, leaving protection against hack attacks to the built-in Windows firewall. It doesn't actively block Web-based attempts to exploit system vulnerabilities, but it's tough enough that malware won't manage to disable it.

A feature called Identity Shield invisibly protects your privacy on sensitive websites. Among other things it prevents keyloggers from capturing your passwords or snapping screenshots of sensitive sites. I checked; it works.

My Webroot contacts say that an enhanced antiphishing engine is under development. That's good, because the existing engine isn't all that accurate. In my tests its detection rate was 45 percentage points behind Norton's, and 10 points behind Internet Explorer alone. For a full explanation of how I test phishing protection, see How We Test Antiphishing.

The password manager captures login credentials as you enter them and offers to login automatically when you revisit a site for which it has stored credentials. From the Webroot browser button you can open a multi-level menu of all your saved sites; choosing an item navigates to the site and logs you in. It handles non-standard login pages better than most password managers.

You can also create any number of personal information profiles for filling Web forms, plus additional profiles containing just credit card information. When it detects you've opened a page containing a Web form, Webroot offers to fill it using the profile of your choice.

From any Internet-equipped computer you can log into your Webroot account to view and manage your password collection and personal information profiles. As with Webroot's mid-range suite, this online console also lets you check the status of your PCs and mobile devices. Webroot SecureAnywhere Complete adds online management of the Backup and Sync feature.

Neil Rubenking served as vice president and president of the San Francisco PC User Group for three years when the IBM PC was brand new. He was present at the formation of the Association of Shareware Professionals, and served on its board of directors. In 1986, PC Magazine brought Neil on board to handle the torrent of Turbo Pascal tips submitted by readers. By 1990, he had become PC Magazine's technical editor, and a coast-to-coast telecommuter. His "User to User" column supplied readers with tips...
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